Officials: Egypt's Mubarak on life support after stroke

There are conflicting reports about the health of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, who reportedly suffered a stroke early today in a prison hospital.

Egypt's state-run Middle East News Agency said doctors had declared Mubarak, 84, "clinically dead" after he was transferred to a military hospital from prison. Security officials and his lawyer said he is still alive on life support.

Mubarak was sentenced June 2 to life in prison over the deaths of pro-democracy protesters last year. He ruled the country for three decades before being deposed during the "Arab Spring."

Update at 9:12 p.m. ET: Citing an "official source," Ahram Online reports that Mubarak is in "very critical condition with the aid of life-sustaining equipment" at Maadi Military Hospital.

Regarding "rumors" about a possible curfew in the next two days, "another official source suggested" they "are not totally unfounded," speculating that precautions would need to be taken should Mubarak die.

Were Mubarak to die in the next 48 hours, Thursday's official announcement of the winner of the presidential election would likely be delayed, Ahram Online says, citing its sources.

Ahram says that in the event of the former president's death, his two imprisoned sons would be allowed to participate in a family funeral.

Funeral prayers would most likely be said at a mosque near the family cemetery in Heliopolis., a Cairo suburb.

Update at 6:34 p.m. ET: Cheering and fireworks erupted in Tahrir Square after the reports that Mubarak was "clinically dead," Ahram Online says, adding that most demonstrators in the square support the Muslim Brotherhood.

Update at 6:29 p.m. ET: Reuters, which initially reported that Mubarak was clinically dead, explains the genesis of its report and subsequent statements that he is still alive:

Earlier the state news agency, amid high tension over the election of a new president, quoted medical sources as saying the former head of state, aged 84, was "clinically dead". That description was used also to Reuters by a hospital source.

But three sources in the military and security services, which retain control following the revolt, said Mubarak was being kept alive and said they would not use the expression "clinically dead" to describe his condition.

General Said Abbas, a member of the ruling military council, told Reuters, that Mubarak had suffered a stroke but added: "Any talk of him being clinically dead is nonsense."

Another military source said: "He is completely unconscious. He is using artificial respiration."

A security source also gave the same account and said: "It is still early to say that he is clinically dead."

Update at 6:17 p.m. ET: "He is not clinically dead as reported, but his health is deteriorating, and he is in critical condition," Gen. Mamdouh Shahin, a member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, told CNN.

Update at 6:01 p.m. ET: A security official tells the Associated Press Mubarak is on life support.

Update at 5:53 p.m. ET: Reuters cites security sources as saying Mubarak is not dead but is unconscious and on a respirator.

It's possible that Mubarak could be brain dead but being kept alive mechanically.

Update at 5:43 p.m. ET: Despite the reports that resuscitation efforts failed, Mubarak's lawyer Farid El-Deeb told Al-Hayat television channel that he is alive and that efforts to revive him are beginning to have some effect, Ahram Online reports.

The news outlet adds that "it is understood" that Mubarak has been suffering from cancer and heart problems.

Original post: Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak has been declared clinically dead after suffering a stroke in a prison hospital, according to the state-run MENA news agency.

Reuters says a source at the military hospital where Mubarak, 84, was moved confirmed the report.

"Former president Hosni Mubarak has clinically died following his arrival at Maadi military hospital on Tuesday evening," MENA said, quoting medical sources, according to Reuters. "Mubarak's heart stopped beating and was subjected to a defibrillator several times but did not respond."

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